Biography

Cherie Enns is a registered urban planner and experienced educator with extensive experience engaging internationally. She has initiated and led international projects related to child rights, food systems, sustainable development goals(SDGs), urban planning policy, and youth engagement. She has experience managing programs, mobilizing resources, and working on projects in several countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Somalia, and India. She has more recently led several humanitarian projects within the Eastern Africa Community. She holds an MA in Community and Regional Planning and is currently completing a Ph.D. in International Policy and Program Management at Ardhi Regional University in Tanzania.

Cherie also leads a Universities Canada Internship program, has worked on housing projects and assisted with the coordination of many international and community events. She has worked on local projects related to homelessness and affordable houses as well as child and youth policy.

She has taught courses at the University of the Fraser Valley since 1988, primarily in social geography, community development and planning, planning studio courses, internships and the various regional geography courses. Currently, I’m also expanding an innovative mobile learning project with UN Habitat youth in the global south related to social enterprise and sustainable development.

Education

PhD Candidate, Darmstadt University and Ardhi University, Tanzania MA, University of British Columbia, 1986 BA, Trinity Western University, 1983

Memberships

Member of the Canadian Institute of Planners (MCIP)

Registered Professional Planner (RPP)

Teaching Philosophy

As education increasingly moves from the classroom into the “real” learning realm, teaching needs to change to reflect what this generation of students desire. I support this shift and believe that the best classroom is the world in which we live, our own experiences, our lives, and how we connect to places, space, and time. I value engaging students and finding innovative ways of providing tangible, applied outputs and real life experience within the community. I emphasize global and community participation as a way to supplement traditional pedagogical methods.

I bring the classroom into the “real” time and offer real learning experiences through field trips, internships, practicum, and travel study. I also incorporate guest speakers and seminars into class time.

My goal as an instructor is to not teach by rote or test for memory retention, rather it is to introduce students to community members who have similar goals and interests and give my students the fundamental skills that they require. I enjoy leading them on a journey of knowledge through grounded theory and hands-on experiential learning. I strive to encourage students in developing concepts and principles into working theories and practices that they can put to use in their own professional lives. This method of instructing, I believe, gives students the opportunity to lead independent lives and move in the direction that suits their desired employment objectives and life goals.

I integrate a range of sources beyond experiential learning/problem based learning into my classes including academic reading, novels, movies, documentaries, guest speakers, and conferences. Students are asked to write papers; give presentations; keep a generalized journal that pertains to specific readings, reflect on the connection to the world as they are learning; and create posters.

I also highlight the importance of discussion in the classroom and see it as an effective tool for learning. Each student has a different background, different knowledge and different abilities. Through open forum and discussion we are able to highlight each other’s strengths and achieve remarkable results, benefiting the entire group.

In addition to the lectures listed below, I coordinate and co-lead travel studies in Hawaii, India, Kenya (adjunct at TWU) and Tanzania. I have also placed students in multiple practicum positions. In Africa, I have placed students in over five countries. Over the last few years, I have had over fifty students complete coursework and internships in Tanzania. Many have gone onto graduate school and into planning and development related employment.

"This internship has broadened my outlook by giving me invaluable planning experiences in an international setting. Not only has it enhanced my understanding of East Africa, but it has opened by eyes to the world of development, opportunity, and reality that lies in this vast continent." Athena Von Hausen, Summer 2013

Teaching Interests

Innovative Teaching: I have worked to make my teaching practical and applied, often through Field Study and Studio courses. These are certainly my most popular and appreciated courses offered as they provide students with an opportunity to put theoretical ideas and concepts into practice.

Course Development: Involving global topics in course material has been a key focus of my teaching. Over the past five years, I have developed new courses and course curriculum that pertain to global learning. More recently, I have offered a number of opportunities for students to complete internships and coursework simultaneously in Canada or Africa. Those students that travel to Africa, study alongside African University partners. Such experiences help students to build their resumes and pinpoint their career interests.

Core Courses

GDS 100 / Geog 109 A World of Development

GEOG 241 Social Geography

GEOG 340/GDS 340 Geography of Poverty and Development

GEOG 360 Introduction to Regional and Community Planning

GEOG 364 International Planning and Climate Change

GEOG 396/GDS 310/SOC 396 Canada Internship

GEOG 398/GDS 311/SOC 398 International Internship

GEOG 464 Community Planning and Development

Research Interests

My current research and project interest focus on child and youth friendly communities, HIV/AIDS Orphans, and Vulnerable Children care in Sub-Saharan Africa. I continue to work on projects related to child friendly community planning including initiating and participating in several sustainable community planning projects related to child friendly development in Kenya and, most currently, Tanzania. I also am involved in planning policy related to affordable housing, climate change and child rights.

Additionally, I have been exploring alternative methods to teaching beyond the typical classroom instruction and online forum. This research has led to the development of mobile classes for tablets and Smartphone technology. This has led to the creation of an entrepreneurial and sustainable development applied certification program that is interactive and dynamic (in essence a virtual global classroom), using state of the art digital media.

Presentations

Intergenerational Design and Intervention leading toward Sustainability.” Presentation at Child in the City Conference – Zangreb, Croatia - September 26-28, 2012.

Child Rights and Child Friendly Cities

“Child Friendly Version of the Guide for CSOs on How to Engage with the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC)” Presentation at African Union, 23rd Session of the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) - Addis Ababa, Ethiopia April 9-16, 2014.

“Child Friendly Community Design: Responding to the Needs of OVC’s in Western Kenya: Considering the Voice of the Child”, Presentation of findings, IDRC, February 2011.

“Child Friendly Community Design: Responding to the Needs of OVC’s in Western Kenya: Considering the Voice of the Child”, Poster Presentation of findings, Child in the City Conference, Florence Italy, October 2010.

“Child in the City: A Canadian Perspective.” Presentation with Lisa Wolff, Child in the City Conference, Florence Italy, October 2010.

Gender Equality

“How to Involve and Empower Adolescent Girls” Presentation at CUSO-VSO East Africa Gender and Partnership Capacity Building Workshop. February 2011.

About us

The University of the Fraser Valley is situated on the unceded traditional territory of the Stó:lō peoples.
The Stó:lō have an intrinsic relationship with what they refer to as S'olh Temexw (Our Sacred Land);
therefore, we express our gratitude and respect for the honour of living and working in this territory.